Nurse suspended for failings at care home near Leeds

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Published:15:01Tuesday 28 February 2017

A nurse who mixed up syringes in a care home and failed to act while a patient choked on food has been suspended from the profession.

Members of a Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) misconduct panel hearing ruled that Bonnie Salima’s fitness to practice was impaired following failings at Fairburn Vale and Fairburn Chase care homes in Castleford.

She was suspended for a period of six months.

The NMC panel’s judgment said: “The panel considered that you have breached fundamental tenets of the nursing profession, namely providing a high standard of care at all times, being open and honest, acting with integrity and upholding the reputation of your profession. It cannot safely exclude the risk of your doing so in the future.”

Of the 12 charges Ms Salima faced, eight related to her conduct while working at the care homes in Castleford between July 2014 and April 2015.

They included a risk of contaminating feeding syringes, cleaned individually between each use, which she instead placed all in one sink together.

She was also found to have failed to undertake basic nursing when she did not act while a patient was choking on mince, risking harm. Other charges proved included competency concerns on shifts, reacting to an aggressive patient, communicating with colleagues and records.

Three charges related to being dishonest to an employer.

The NMC panel judgment said: “The panel concluded that you have acted so as to put patients at unwarranted risk of harm and you are at risk of putting patients at unwarranted risk of harm in the future.”

The hearing was told that Ms Salima had also breached the misconduct code by failing to inform her employers of ill health.

Ms Salima provided references at the hearing attesting that she has worked without concern in a care support worker role since the incidents occurred.